Phantom
by Randomonium
Summary: No-one had ever seen her before. So why had she chosen to reveal herself to me? ShikaTema, AU. Rated for mild language.


**Phantom**

She was one of the most renowned criminals in the city. She did everything- theft, forgery, arson… murder. She couldn't be caught. The only reason we knew the variety of crimes she committed was that she always left a token- a decorative fan. Or a drawing of a fan. We don't know why.

No one had ever seen her. Sometimes, they would hear her. Sometimes she would speak to the squad. That's how we knew she was female. She was mocking, teasing, and they could never find her. There was talk about if she was a ghost. But it was nothing more than a joking whisper, because we all knew ghosts didn't exist. Besides, even if they did, surely a spirit wouldn't be tangible enough to commit these crimes? Although no one could come up with a rational explanation as to how she remained undetected.

I had never heard her.

I had never been on a case involving her.

Of course, I had heard of her. She was a legend. But I had never been assigned to anything related to Sabaku before.

That's another thing: she seemed to target Sabaku. No one really knew the man's first name. He was what they called the 'Kazekage' of Suna Enterprises, one of the biggest industries in the country. That man had his fingers in every pie imaginable. He was the wealthiest motherfucker around, and you did not get on his bad side, because he was a cunning, twisted old man. I would even dare to say that his slate was not as clean as he made it out to be, or that his rise to power was not strictly by the book. But not out loud. Never out loud. He was a dangerous and powerful man, and everything he touched either turned to gold, or was visited by her. And that never ended well for him.

When I was assigned to something Sabaku had recently become very involved in, it was with a mixture of excitement, trepidation, eagerness and dread.

When the alarm sounded, I was the first to arrive, and the last to enter.

No one noticed.

No one noticed when I slipped out again either, too busy yelling and shouting, too focused on thee blood, the bodies, the smashed glass, the fire. The smell of burnt flesh turned my stomach, and I had to get out of there. To avoid being seen by the fire trucks that raced to the scene, I moved into the warehouse next to it, unwilling to go back into the fray.

Strangely enough, the warehouse seemed to be mostly empty, except for something standing prominently in the middle, looking almost as if it was in the spotlight of the full moon shining through the high windows. As if I had stepped into some cheap movie. There were boxes and what I assumed were cabinets of some sort lining the walls haphazardly, but it was the solitary object in the middle of the room that drew my attention- so, naturally, I moved towards it.

"Oh, look, a sheep has wandered away from the flock."

A clear, musical voice echoed through the room, causing me to freeze and my blood to run cold. It could only be one person. It could only be her. She laughed.

"You look so terrified. What, didn't you know that the most valuable item in this complex is in this building?"

That thing. In the middle of the room. It had to be.

"Well, the most valuable thing to the bastard anyway, if not by the price tag," she continued, as if this were a casual chat. I had no doubt who 'the bastard' was- Sabaku. I didn't know why she called him that (aside from his personality), but I didn't second-guess myself. I'd learnt not to do that. My first guesses were usually right.

"So were you smart enough to realize that the obvious crime was a distraction? Or did you simply wander in here by accident?"

She was so blasé about the whole thing. I didn't reply- it hurts to admit it, but I was too shit-scared to breath a word yet. No one had ever spoken to her alone.

"Do you think playing possum will cause me to ignore you?" Her mocking voice was filled with laughter.

"Who are you?" I managed to choke out, my eyes trying to pierce the darkness in the direction of the voice, trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive woman.

"Who am I?" I whirled around; her reply had come from the other side of the room.

"That's an interesting question, really. I'm someone who was discarded, someone who has risen with a vengeance, I'm an avenger, I'm a destroyer, I'm a protector, I'm a murderer, I'm a provider, I'm a thief. I'm the punished and the punisher, hunter and the hunted, heartless and a conscience. Forgotten and a reminder. I live but I don't exist, I'm a daughter, I'm an orphan. I'm a sister, I have no family, I'm famous, I'm invisible, I am good, I am evil, I am a felon, I am the law. I am the same as I was, I am completely different. I am dead, I am alive. I am here, I am not." Her contradictory words flew around the room, dizzying me.

"You're contradicting yourself," I murmured.

She laughed again. "That's what I am, a contradiction."

She was a mystery, and one I was suddenly desperate to solve- and at the same time leave well alone.

"Why do you do it?" I asked.

"That's for me to know and you not to," she replied lazily, again from another part of the room.

"If it's for revenge, wouldn't it work better it he knew who you were?" I tried, looking for a clue, any clue. A dark chuckle rang through the room.

"He knows exactly who I am."

I frowned, confused. He was always telling us to catch her, 'the little bitch, the stupid whore', as he referred to her. It had never struck me as odd before, but now that I thought about it, he did seem to refer to her with some familiarity, the rage on his face reminiscent of someone who's been done wrong by someone they knew well. Yes, he knew her.

"But then why doesn't he tell us?" It didn't make sense.

"Because I don't exist."

I didn't try to make sense of it. It would only make my head hurt.

"Is that why you leave the fan? To tell him it's you?" I guessed.

"That; and I think it lends a nice touch." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You know, most things can be traced," I pointed out; as if she didn't know.

"Those who leave traceable objects are just begging to be caught." Her voice is coated with derision.

"Aren't you afraid you'll be caught?" Her laughter rang through the warehouse.

"I can't be caught," was her enigmatic response.

The whisper that she was a ghost crept through my mind.

"They talk about you. The men. They say that- that you're a ghost." It came out as barely a whisper, my voice betraying me.

Another tinkling laugh. "A ghost, huh?"

"Are… are you a ghost?" I'm ashamed to admit that I stuttered a bit. I'm not a superstitious person, but I was certainly nervous. Who wouldn't be, when faced with a vengeful possible ghost?

"Am I a ghost?" She sounded amused.

Suddenly, I felt a woman's body pressing up against my back and saw two feminine hands slide around my waist.

"What do you think?" I felt her hot breath on my ear as she whispered her query.

I shat myself. I swear, the fright she gave me took ten years off my life.

And then she was gone.

I spun around, my brief paralysis over.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

"You can call me Temari." Her reply came from behind me, causing me to turn on my heel again.

And there she stood, proud, confident and smirking. She was dressed entirely in black, for obvious reasons, and had blonde hair tied up in four ponytails- to this day, one of the oddest hairstyles I've ever seen.

She was beautiful.

And she was standing in front of me, in full view.

I have to admit, I think I gaped.

"Y… you… I can see you," I stammered.

"Looks that way," she commented- I think she was laughing at me.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You interest me."

I choked on a laugh. "_I _interest _you_?" I asked incredulously. "How could I possibly interest _you_?" To think that I interested this woman. I didn't even interest _myself_.

"You seem different."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to figure out her thought process. If there was one thing I hated, it was being confused, and she was confusing me a lot. I didn't get to a conclusion.

When I opened my eyes, she was standing considerably closer- at least nine and a half meters closer. And seeing as she was only about ten meters away in the first place, she was pretty damn close.

I yelped, I confess. I yelped and fell back a step or two.

She seemed tot find it amusing. "I'm not going to eat you. I don't bite. Hard," she added mischievously.

…I'm not going to say it had no effect on me. She was a very attractive woman.

"I don't mind biting," I breathed. She arched her eyebrow.

"Oh, the boy wants to play, does he?" she remarked sardonically.

I couldn't think of a reply, so I didn't, averting my eyes to the floor momentarily.

I don't know how she moves so quickly, or quietly, but when I looked up again, it took a great deal of willpower to not jump back again, because she was right in front of me.

"But you're cute." She grinned wickedly and pressed her lips to mine. My heart stopped for the second time that night, and started again, speeding up and tripping over itself.

All too soon, she drew back, smirking. "So tell me, am I a ghost?" she teased.

Before I could answer, she stiffened and her head whipped around to the door, waving me to silence with her hand. I followed her gaze and finally registered that the captain was yelling and was about to burst through the door.

When I looked back, she was gone.

They all came in while I was looking around wildly, trying to see where she had gone.

"Nara?" the captain asked, "Why are you in here? What are you doing?"

"I heard her." I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. They seemed to buy it, and started running around, with the captain heading straight for the object in the middle of the room. He must have gotten a call from Sabaku.

I stood there, motionless, what I had said sinking in, everything that had happened sinking in.

I had heard her.

I had seen her.

I had felt her.

I had kissed her.

I don't know if she's of this world or not- although her clothes, her voice, her taste, her warmth suggest the former.

I don't know if Temari is her real name or not- I call her that regardless.

I don't know why she decided to show herself to me that night.

I don't know why she does what she does.

I don't know who she is really.

But I do know that even with all the secret glances, hidden encounters and stolen kisses at crime scenes, I will never be the one to catch her.

-END-

**A/N: I really should be doing homework. **

… **I can't resist a story idea!! Anyway, this one was really different to my usual stuff. If you have any questions about it (which you might, I don't know. I think I might have been pretty vague about some things) then please feel free to review or PM me. If you ask me whether she's human or not, my answer will be a honest I have no fucking idea with a leaning towards human. I really think she's human. How she moves around so fast, and how she remains undetectable… I have nfi. But I liked this one. I enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoyed reading it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!!!**


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